Where does “spy-fi” come from?
spy-fi (English) comes from English sci-fi, from English science fiction, from English fiction, from Middle English ficcioun, from Old French ficcion, from Latin fictio, from Latin -tiō, from Latin dissertātiō — small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble.
spy-fi (English): A genre of science fiction involving secret...
Definitions
- A genre of science fiction involving secret...
Ancestry of “spy-fi”, step by step
spy-fi traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English sci-fi
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | sci-fi | Clipping of science fiction |
| 2 | English | science fiction | Fiction in which advanced technology or science... |
| 3 | English | fiction | Literary type using invented or imaginative... |
| 4 | Middle English | ficcioun | An invention or fabrication |
| 5 | Old French | ficcion | dissimulation, ruse, invention |
| 6 | Latin | fictio | fashioning, forming, formation; fiction |
| 7 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 8 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 9 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 10 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 11 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 12 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 13 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 14 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |
via English spy
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | spy | A person who secretly watches and examines the... |
| 2 | English | -ing | Used to form gerunds, a type of verbal nouns,... |
| 3 | Old English | -ing | Forming nouns from verbs, indicating action,... |
| 4 | Old English | -tūn | homestead, village, town |
| 5 | Old English | tūn | enclosure, yard; place; dwelling |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | tūn | fence |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | tūną | fence; enclosure |
| 8 | Gaulish | dunum | fort; hill, hillfort |
| 9 | Proto-Celtic | dūnom | stronghold, rampart |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewh₂- | smoke; mist, haze |